Comfort From A Friend
by btamamura
Summary: Following a difficult moment in time, Llama offers Penguin what every good friend should. A shoulder to cry on and attentive listening. SPOILER WARNING


**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Shirokuma Cafe or the characters._

**Notes: **_**Okay, I felt really sorry for what happened to Penguin in a recent episode of the series. So, I had Llama offer comfort. There is a spoiler warning as this does follow the plot of one particular episode involving Penguin and the Penkos. I also wanted to come to Penguin's defense from each moment Panda commented that he can't figure out what's good about Penguin.**_

_**Anyway, aside from my usual potential OOC warnings, I can't say there's much else to worry about. Enjoy!**_

The day had come to an end. Shirokuma was closing up the cafe, and preparing for late-night fun with Grizzly, while everybody else headed for their homes.

It had been fun, for the most part. In order to cheer up Penguin, who'd been dumped by all seven of his girlfriends, the group of friends had a party. They'd tried getting Penguin to look on the bright side by pointing out that he no longer had to worry about which Penko was not Penko but Penjolina and so on.

Penguin tried to agree, but he couldn't help but feel the crushing pain; intensified because seven girls dumped him at the same time. He'd drunk himself silly, claiming he was in a partying mood. But, the truth was he wanted to try dulling the pain.

By the end of the evening, he could barely waddle. So, it was up to Llama to carry him home again. Not that the good-natured animal minded.

Llama took his time, not wanting to cause Penguin to slip off of his back, nor wanting to instigate nausea. He felt sorry for Penguin, he'd been supporting the relationships since he'd heard of the confessions to the girls. He'd even tried helping out when Penguin was backed into a corner and forced to identify who was who.

He stopped in front of an apartment complex. "Penguin-san? We're here."

He moaned as he opened his eyes. "Where...?"

"Your apartment building. Will you be alright from here?"

"I don't think so...I had too much to drink..."

"Alright, I'll take you inside your apartment and make sure you'll be comfortable."

"I appreciate it..." He felt the slight rocking as Llama continued onwards.

After getting the key from Penguin, he opened the door and excused himself as he entered the apartment. He set the keys in a small dish near the door and advanced into the building, searching for Penguin's bedroom.

"Llama-kun...?"

"Yes, Penguin-san?"

"Stay..."

"Stay? Would you like me to spend the night here?"

He nodded slightly as he slipped off of Llama's back and onto his bed. "I don't want to be alone. Not tonight..."

He understood why. He knew Penguin was feeling depressed and wished for a friend to be with him in such a dark time. He smiled gently and nodded. "Alright, Penguin-san. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you."

"Okay. Thanks, Llama-kun."

"For now, you should try to sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up. I promise."

He made himself comfortable and closed his eyes. Sleep did sound very good at that moment.

Llama settled himself beside the bed and closed his eyes. He was a light sleeper, so he'd be ready to tend to whatever Penguin requested of him.

It wasn't long after midnight when Llama woke. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked over to Penguin. He could hear something coming from him, the very sound that woke him up. "Penguin-san?"

He paused and choked back a sob. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."

He leaned over and nuzzled him. "I said that if you needed anything, then you could let me know. That includes someone to listen to you, or a shoulder to cry on. Let me be both?"

He heard sincerity in the voice, and couldn't hold back. He sat up, wrapped his flippers around his friend's neck and cried.

Llama continued nuzzling him and whispered words of assurance.

Five minutes later, the cries ceased and the tears slowed to a stop. "I wish you didn't have to see me like this..."

"Don't worry about it. Would you like to talk about it?"

"I loved all of them so much...even if I couldn't tell them apart. I didn't love them for their names, and in the end, it was their personalities that won me over. I thought they loved me too… I guess Panda-kun's right, there's nothing good about me…no wonder they left me…"

"There is a lot that's good about you. Please pay no heed to what Panda-kun said."

"What is good about me?"

"You're always the one to retort to Shirokuma-san's puns. You might not have realised, but it makes him very happy that you're willing to play along. You have a lot of patience, allowing you to get along fairly well with Panda-kun. You're always able to speak your mind, no matter who's with you. Your nephew clearly loves you meaning you're a good uncle. You put all you have into your interests, which shows you are passionate about them. Those are just some of the things that are good about you. Whoever can't see them is blind."

"Really?"

"Really. In the end, neither of the Penko-sans deserved you if they couldn't see that. You deserve to be with someone who sees every good thing about you."

"Like you, Llama-kun?"

"Yes, though a penguin, of course."

He smiled. "Thank you. You're a good friend." He felt his eyelids getting heavier. "I'm sleepy…"

"Then try to get some more sleep. I'll still be here." He could feel Penguin's grip slipping, so he helped him lie down. Once the other was comfortable, he nuzzled his cheek against Penguin's; a friendly and affectionate gesture. "Good night. Sweet dreams." As he made himself comfortable, he heard Penguin mutter something.

"Thank you. Sweet dreams. G'night…"

He noted Penguin already sounded much better and smiled. As he closed his eyes, he made a personal vow that he'd help Penguin through the aftermath of the break-ups and with dating when the antarctic bird was ready to go out again. He was going to continue being a friend Penguin could count on.


End file.
